Utah Hockey Club name change: Team president Chris Armstrong reveals when decision will be made

The Utah Hockey Club is still working to find a permanent name as it continues on during its first season in the NHL. The Utah Yetis appeared to be the favorite at one point, but that is no longer an option after being rejected by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Instead, the Utah Hockey Club is down to a final three for the name change — Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth or Utah Wasatch. Utah Hockey Club President Chris Armstrong provided an update on the name search Wednesday night during an interview with TNT.

“A good day, for sure. A step forward towards naming the team,” Armstrong said. “And obviously we’ve continued to pare down the naming options for our fans with their involvement throughout this process and we’re excited about the three very good options that we have now, each with their own unique storylines and characteristics, and we’re excited to see what our fans ultimately guide us towards here in this process.”

Utah Hockey Club fans will get to vote on the team name over the next four home games, and the leading vote-getter could be the team name for the future. However, Armstrong warned that there could be another vote held later on.

“We will determine, based on the results of this survey, what the next step looks like, whether we need to do another round, or whether we have the data we need to make a decision coming out of this round,” Armstrong said. “And obviously we’re keen to do that as quickly as everybody would like us to and to be able to start building this brand for our fan base in Utah.”

Either way, the Utah Hockey Club plans to have a name in place before the start of the 2025-26 NHL season. The Utah Hockey Club is currently tied for fifth in the Central Division of the Western Conference with 50 points despite being on a three-game losing streak.

Overall, Armstrong is pleased with how the expansion team is performing in its first NHL season.

“We’ve really tried to, as we’ve done with the naming, engage our fans, listen to that feedback, understand what we’re doing well, understand what we need to do better and can improve upon and always striving to do that, provide the best experience here in the building,” Chris Armstrong said. “It’s been electric every night. We’ve sold the building out every night. It’s a playoff-like atmosphere. I think that’s also brought the best out of the teams that we’ve played.

“We get the best out of the other teams because of the energy in the building. We’ve had some exciting moments, we’ve lost some close games at home, but the fans have been behind us every step of the way.”